National Reference Center for tuberculosis and mycobacteria

Last updated on 17-7-2023 by Marinka Vangenck

Project duration:

January 1, 1990

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Project with no end date

In short

The National Reference Center (NRC) for tuberculosis and mycobacteria is a laboratory specialized in the microbiological diagnosis of tuberculosis and mycobacterioses, and in the molecular monitoring of tuberculosis.

Request for analyses

Project description

Our objectives are :

to diagnose mycobacterial infections and identify clinical strains (up to species level) using molecular techniques;
to confirm, upon request, the diagnosis made by peripheral clinical laboratories;
to conduct drug-sensitivity tests (molecular and bacteriological methods) for M. tuberculosis and nontuberculous mycobacteria;
to determine susceptibility to second-line antibiotics of multi-drug resistant M. tuberculosis strains;
to detect thepresence of latent tuberculosis in patients ;
to determine genetic fingerprintings to identify epidemics and transmission pathways of tuberculosis;
to organize annual quality control for the network of Belgian laboratories that perform mycobacterial diagnoses.